Chevy Dealer Destroyed $20K C8 Z06 Carbon Fiber Wheels

Chevy dealers do not have the equipment or the training to be able to safely mount tires on the C8 Z06 carbon fiber wheels.

Austin Everett runs the Speed Phenom YouTube channel. We have featured him here several times lately as he is one of the few people driving his new C8 Z06 the way it begs to be driven. And that of course is pushed to the limits on a racetrack. Major kudos to Everett for doing this and sharing his experiences with us. And for the most part the car has performed as we would have expected. Which is to say it is amazing. It is lapping tracks faster than cars that cost a lot more money. But all is not rosy in Z06 land. The latest issue that has Everett stymied is the fact that his Chevy dealer is destroying his fancy, expensive carbon fiber wheels with each tire change. And now every Chevy dealer he contacts refuses to work on his car.

Remember last year when I wrote that with the Corvette moving up market Chevy was going to need to make dealership upgrades? Well, this is exactly what I was talking about. When people ask why anyone would spend so much money on a Ferrari or a Porsche when a Corvette is as fast or faster, this is why. Can you imagine a Ferrari dealer refusing to mount tires on a set of stock wheels for one of their customers? As I mentioned in my article last year, when you spend this kind of money on a car you expect an exceptional dealer experience as well. Building a great car is only part of the battle if you are trying to woo buyers from the established exotic brands.

Carbon Fiber Wheel Story

In the first video below Everett explains the issues he is experiencing with his carbon fiber wheels. They are slowly getting destroyed by the tire mounting equipment used by his Chevy dealer. Which makes sense. This same machine is mounting tires on Silverados and Tahoes all day. Then a set of $20,000 carbon fiber Z06 wheels come in. The Chevy dealer has admitted to Everett that they were not trained on how to work with these wheels.

In the second video, Chevy is trying to make things right by sending Everett a new set of carbon fiber wheels. However, every Chevy dealer he calls now refuses to mount them. So, effectively his C8 Z06 is a 3,700-pound paperweight.

First Piece of Advice for Everett

If Everett is planning to continue to beat on his Z06 on the track (and we hope, he does) then he should really ditch the expensive carbon fiber bits. He should swap the carbon brakes with steel. And he should swap the carbon fiber wheels with aluminum. They will take the abuse, are far less expensive to replace and much easier to deal with. With a good set of wheels and brakes, he will not notice any significant performance degradation. And even if he is half a second slower per lap it would be totally worth it to not deal with the hassle of this carbon fiber equipment. Keep the expensive stuff wrapped up in storage.

Second Piece of Advice for Everett

If he is dead set on keeping the carbon in place, then he needs to give up on working with a Chevy dealer to mount tires on the carbon fiber wheels. He must have access to a high-end independent race shop or similar that can safely mount tires to these wheels. Or start reaching out to exotic dealers in the area to see if they will handle it. Until Chevy can prove they can properly service these wheels, I would avoid them at all costs.

Bad Look for Chevy

Chevy, what are you doing? You CANNOT be in a situation where your dealers are refusing to service your halo car with the most expensive options. Some people are paying over $200K to own one of these cars. For some it is the first time they are dipping a toe in the Corvette pool. Situations like this will ensure that they will never come back. If you are selling a product you need to ensure that your dealer network can service it. This needs to be rectified as soon as possible. Either stop offering the carbon fiber wheels or get dealers the training and equipment they need.

Other Concerns

Carbon fiber wheels are new for Chevy, and they are having issues servicing them. It makes you wonder about the flat-plane crank V8 which is also all-new for the Chevy crew. Will that be serviced properly? What about the hybrid setup in the new E-Ray? If more complex and expensive models are planned under the Corvette umbrella the service experience needs to be elevated. It is fun to say the Corvette can lap a track faster than a Porsche 911 GT3. But when the Corvette is up on blocks because the dealer can’t mount tires on the wheels it is not so fun anymore. Chevy, you built the world beating car. Now you need to focus on world beating service.

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